StefanClaypool.com

I’m traveling today and will hopefully be back at my apartment before 5, if everything goes according to plan. I had a great time with the family, particularly with a certain freakishly intelligent miniature schnauzer who insisted on rolling in the snow every chance he got.

I also caught up on some reading, and finished “The Writer’s Journey” by Christopher Volger, which I heartily recommend to anybody interested in the mechanics of story structure. I’m already seeing how it can apply to both my work and my personal writing. Speaking of which, “Blood & Thunder” is slowly coming together in my head. I’m getting a clearer picture of the structure and the character arcs, even if the plot still needs some developing. It is on the right track, which is a plus. Now I just have to pull it violently out of my head and slam it onto the page. Easier said than done.

I’ll be boarding momentarily. Hope you all have a happy new year!

So we have a health care “reform” bill that 61% of Americans don’t want passed; that liberals hate because it amounts to a massive subsidy for private insurance companies; that conservatives hate because it allows the government to expand its reach into an already heavily-regulated industry; that doesn’t lower the cost of health premiums; that will increase the federal budget deficit in a time when it has already surpassed the legal limit; that will not fully cover the forty-five million Americans who don’t have health insurance; that will force individuals to buy government-approved health insurance under penalty of imprisonment (for “tax evasion”); that will fund abortions with taxpayer money; that will cut Medicare benefits to seniors; and that will transform health care conceptually from a purchased good to an entitlement.  It is a tragically flawed bill, a poorly-conceived, poorly-executed rush-job that does more harm than good, and no one is satisfied with it.

No one except Barack Obama.